27 May 2015

Two Shropshire nurseries are celebrating success at this year's Chelsea Flower Show.

David Austin Roses, based in Albrighton, has been awarded a gold medal for its Rose Garden exhibit. It takes the nursery's total to nineteen gold medals at the prestigious show.

Also celebrating are Wildegoose Nursery, from Munslow, near Craven Arms, which has won a silver-gilt medal for its violas.

David Austin Roses has unveiled new varieties of roses at this week’s national event in London. The new varieties are Desdemona, a white rose with an exceptionally long flowering season and The Ancient Mariner, a floriferous rose larger than the average shrub. ..

....The Sir Walter Scott...
which is a different character from the general run of English roses due to its Scottish rose heritage, was also unveiled at Chelsea....

Soak and then sow seeds in pots and then plant out under glass until all chances of frost have gone. Plant 2m between plants.

Pruning & Thinning

Harvesting

Harvest before the firsts frosts
Growing pumpkins in the garden can be a lot of fun, especially for children who may use them for carving their jack-o-lanterns at Halloween. But, as many gardeners know, successfully growing pumpkins in the garden for Halloween pumpkins can be difficult to do. With a few pumpkin growing tips, you can grow perfect Halloween pumpkins in your garden.

Plant at the right time, now,late May.

It is keeping the pumpkins from rotting before Halloween that is hard. Mature pumpkins will rot quickly, so it is important to make sure your pumpkin is ripe right at Halloween. The best time for planting pumpkins depends on the variety and your climate. Normally, in the North, you should be planting pumpkins in mid to late May.

...Give your pumpkin lots of room...

Growing pumpkins requires a lot of room. Many pumpkin plants can grow to be 30 to 40 feet long. If you don’t provide enough room for your pumpkin plant, you may cause it to shade and weaken itself, which makes the plant more susceptible to disease and pests.

...Pumpkins love sunshine...

Plant your pumpkins where they will get lots of sun. The more the better.

...Pumpkins love water...

While growing pumpkins will tolerate some drought, it is best to make sure that they get regular watering. Make sure your pumpkin plants get 2 – 4 inches of water a week. Supplement with the hose if you are not getting this amount of rain.

...Plant your Pumpkins with Companions...

To help repel bugs from your pumpkin plant, plant some companion plants near.

Plants like....

Catnip
Radishes
Nasturtiums
Marigolds
Petunias
Mint

...Keep the Stem...

When you harvest your pumpkin plant, make sure you leave a good, long piece of the stem on the pumpkin. Once you cut potential Halloween pumpkins from the vine, a “handle” or stem will help slow the rotting process.

22 May 2015

One of the most common queries in the garden is about vegetable rotation in your veg plot . There seems to be a level of mystery about the correct way to rotate your veg and even a hint of impending doom if it is not followed to the letter....

Crop Rotation has been used in farming almost since farming first started. Ancient farmers found growing the same crops in the same position caused a buildup of pests and a reduction in fertility. So the solution was to grow a winter crop, and then summer crop, and finally leave the ground for one growing season to recover. This three year system was commonly used in Europe un till the 16th Century. Crop rotation in the 16th Century was modified to a four year cycle by farmers in Belgium, where Wheat, Turnips, Barley and Clover produced a sustaining system to feed both animals and humans. Not only did the Clover provide animal feed, but it also fixes Nitrogen into the soil and enriches it in the process.

In the modern vegetable garden, the need for replenishing the land and enriching it in the process is achieved by planting...

....Roots, Alliums, Legumes and Brassicas....

The root crops are usually Potatoes, which by the action of sowing, growing and harvesting turn the soil over and prepare it for the next few years.... The Onions have an anti-bacterial effect on the soil and they 'clean' the ground ready for the next year..... The Legumes have Nitrogen fixing bacteria in their roots,..... and lastly the Nitrogen hungry Brassicas benefit from all the love and attention lavished on the soil over the previous years and provide you with wonderful Vegetables.

This is not law and you aren't going to have massive failures and blight in your plot if you miss a cycle or plant the wrong things in the wrong bed. It's a guide of best practice and you should be prepared to break the rules. ...
.... 'Companion planting'....
can cause conflict with veg rotation, but the results can be worth any risk. Onions and Carrots for example can be grown in alternating rows and help confuse onion and carrot fly. Also 'Three Sisters' planting doesn't fit into a nice little niche when it comes to rotation, but it's still a great way to produce a lot of food from a very small space whilst replenishing the ground as it goes.

If you do want a quick way to remind yourself of the rotation plan, chant R.O.L.B (Roots, Onions, Legumes, Brassicas) repeatedly until it is embedded in your mind....

21 May 2015

Last year I did a restorative prune on all the roses,especially the climbers.Now you can see the difference pruning in the right way does.All the lateral stems have an abundance of rose buds on them,looking wonderful at Abbotsford.